Pupils celebrate after receiving their GCSE results

Although the students at Cedar Mount Academy appear to be pleased with their results, fewer GCSE students were awarded at least a C grade this year, fuelled by a rise in the numbers of pupils sitting exams early and multiple times.

Just over two-thirds (68.1 per cent) of entries scored A*-C this summer, down 1.3 percentage points from 2012 - the biggest fall in the exam's 25-year history.

It is the second year running that the pass rate has fallen.

The dip in national results comes amid major upheaval in the exams system with more pupils entering maths GCSE early or multiple times, changes to science GCSEs and an increase in pupils taking international GCSEs (IGCSEs) in certain subjects contributing to the falls in performance.